

Heavensward will launch on PC, Mac, PS3 and PS4. I hope everyone has the opportunity to get their hands on this new Final Fantasy. All in all, this is a very unique realm created through the interpretations and imaginations of a core development team that is located in Japan. That is another new challenge we’ve put forth for ourselves. As for the storyline we moved towards dark fantasy which is reflected in each scene. We also made sure to visually accentuate the dark and light areas with pronounced contrast to come up with a novel look. There isn’t a specific thing or location we can reference, but we focused on “gothic high fantasy” as the central theme for the artwork and in-game modelling. Were there any real life locations that inspired the architecture and landscape in Heavensward? We are considering all these factors to deliver an even more exciting experience. Other than player feedback, we have gathered very valuable information, including the ever-diversifying tastes of our players, as well as log-in patterns based on lifestyle choices. We are applying this experience to Heavensward, and are open to receiving even more feedback than before to challenge ourselves even more-while keeping a “long-term plan” in mind. Throughout the different updates we were making for A Realm Reborn, we were gradually able to incorporate elements stemming from player feedback as well as improvisations that weren’t necessarily in our original designs. So we worked frantically on designing detailed game mechanics and content within a very tight schedule. To recover from the failure of the original version of Final Fantasy XIV, we had to come up with a long-term plan for Final Fantasy XIV : A Realm Reborn.

What are some key lessons that you have learned from creating Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn that you have incorporated into Heavensward?
